Medical Tattooing

The ink used for normal body tattoos is a large molecule and therefore is too large to travel through the layers of the skin, meaning it will remain where it is initially implanted. Ink molecules break down over time and revert to primary or secondary colours, meaning that skin, areola or hair colours will revert to blues, oranges or purples, and remain there forever. In contrast, the medically certified pigment used in medical tattooing is a much smaller molecule that, despite being implanted in the same area as ink, can travel through other layers of the skin. As a result, the lymph breaks down the pigment and gets rid of it, leading to fading. Although it fades, it holds its colour – creams, browns, soft pinks and they just soften over time.

The level of pigment retention depends on many factors including sun exposure, immune system response, medication, age. It will last anywhere between 1 to 5 years, at which time a colour boost will be required.

For the first week post medical tattooing, you should avoid excessive water exposure, exposure to UV rays (from the sun, tanning beds etc.), touching the area, using cosmetics on the treated area and use of pollutants which may lead to infection.